Satchboogie3

Yeah. Losing 1 Superbowl while being undefeated was pretty damned awful, but I can't imagine losing 4 superbowls in a ROW!

Whats incredible about it is, Brady struggled for the first 3 quarters of the game only to HIS standards, yet still managed to set a Patriot record for completions in a game (39), pass for almost 400 yards, complete 74% of his passes, throw 2 TDs, for a QB rating of 97.8. That is better than 90% of QBs BEST games.

After missing an entire season to an injury, he comes out and shakes off the rust and returns to GOAT form in the matter of 1 game. Stats before 5 min left in the 4th Quarter: 27 of 39 for 254 yds, 1 Int, 0 TD. During the last 2 drives: 12 of 14 for 124 yds, 2 TD, 0 Int. Brady led the offense to 2 TD in a span of 1:12 seconds. Also, don't detract from the fact that NE forced that fumble. Yes, McKelvin should have taken a knee in the endzone, but he made the mistake of taking it out. The Patriots thrive off taking advantage of even small mistakes. They took advantage of the opportunity, got a ton of pressure on McKelvin while keeping him up and tearing out the ball. The Pats had as much to do with that turn over as the Bills. At the end of the day, one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game is back and in form.

Just got back from work and checked up on my auto-draft for the NFL.com Fantasy league. I like I LIKE! I got the GOAT QB (Tom Terrific), Gostkowski baby, and the Steelers DST! I almost like my Fantasy team as much as my real team! Although, I think I might need to add a little more NE to my team, maybe a Law Firm ( ).

Ah, so it's probably for the better that you didn't make it to Canobie. Sounds like you had a great weekend, though! Have you been to Fenway/taken the tour before? It's pretty cool, you get to go to some spots you don't normally see (broadcast booths, etc). As for your schedule, any chance you are going to Ocbolderfest at Compounce next Saturday?

Hope you had fun at Canobie tonight, Mike. I pulled into the park a little after 6 and it was beyond a nightmare, all of the lots were full and there were still tons of cars arriving. I just decided I had better things to do than stand in the longest-of-the-season lines. Too bad I couldn't meet up with you, though. Was it still that busy as the night went on?

Really? I've only got a couple of laps on that one (many more on SFDL) and they just seemed rather weak to me. I got off thinking "Wow, this sucks compared to (my) SFNE SROS.

I have a couple of "problems" with Superman and Toro. It's not that I don't like ejector coasters (Boulder Dash, Goliath, Phoenix...), I just don't think Intamin ejector is THAT great (... apart from Goliath ). I found Superman to have very "sharp" airtime, in that it throws you against the restraint, and then you're straight back down again, which I don't particularly enjoy. Especially since the (old) restraints really dug into my thighs and shins, causing quite a lot of discomfort. Toro I preferred, but, felt other than three hills and the drop it does... nothing. OK, those three hills and the drop are stunning, but, when that's the entire ride... I'd rather have something with some length and variation to it! As for preferring Ride of Steel, I just found it a much more enjoyable coaster. The airtime is nicer IMO, with you more floating than just being thrown out your seat. I really like its location too, and the helixes and speed are awesome too! Oh, and I preferred the drop on that one. SFNE's almost felt... sluggish to me. When I rode it last year I just kept saying "this REALLY needs a refurb or something, it's crawling!". Now, I'd love to go and try it again it has had that! And, as for Goliath, again, it has the type of airtime I personally prefer. It's strong, yes, but a much "smoother" strength than on Superman, which, as I say, I found to be very "sharp". I think the word I used to describe the hills on Superman when we were there was "triangular", and I think that sums up how I feel still. Plus, Goliath has much better helixes, stengel dive etc. I found Superman's overbank to be especially bleh! Stuff like Apollo's, Behemoth and Nitro are above both of them because I personally think B&M floater airtime is a much, much better type of airtime than Intamin ejector, Ultimate and X2 are both really, really brutal but amazing coasters, again, which suit my own personal tastes more than the Intamins, Khan is just pure force and a perfect B&M and then Terminator was just a much more varied, fun and exciting ride to me! I'll be riding EGF in two weeks so I'll let you know what I think of that one too Yeah, I can see that. Superman (SFNE) definitely needed the rehab, so it's totally possible you rode it while it was "cold". As for my preferences, I'm kind of the opposite in that I'm not a big fan of "floater" airtime (why I'm not a big B&M fan), I LOVE being ejected (and I mean that literally). The more forcefull (sharp) the airtime, the better. I'm an adrenaline junky, Goliath (SFMM) was a favorite of mine for a long time because of the "Helix From Hell". Push me to the verge of passing out and I'm a happy guy! As for the DL/SFA versions, I must have just ridden those during an awesome trip (or when they were cold) because they just felt sluggish to me. The drops were good (still I don't think anywhere near SFNE SROS) but the rest was just "Meh". The straight aways at 70MPH were boring (but hey, that's when I'm used to TTD, MF, etc), I thought the 2 big hills delivered weak (floaty) airtime and the helices weren't very aggressive (again, I'm used to those "black out" force helices). I also didn't much care for the layout. I think it's funny that we have such different tastes, yet we totally agree that Boulder Dash is one kick ass coaster.

No no no, I'm not arguing. I'm actually interested in why he didn't like Superman (SFNE) and El Toro enough to be in the top 3-5. I am especially interested in his comparison of the two Superman coasters. Most people (me included) find the SFDL and SFA versions BORING, where as the SFNE one is just about as close to the perfect coaster as it gets (ridiculous ejector air, LOTS of air hills, an awesome banked turn around, a fast flat section, 2 forceful helices, 2 tunnels, and oh, did I mention all the insane air-time?).

How in balls did you rank the SFDL Superman: Ride of Steel above the REAL one at SFNE? I don't comprehend that... at all. 20th, really? And El Toro 15th? I agree with Boulder Dash as #1, but Goliath, Behemoth, Ultimate, Apollo's, Kahn, X2, Terminator, etc all before El Toro and Superman? Are you not a fan of ejector air hyper coasters?

yeah paramount was soo neglectful to carowinds. Forget about top gun it wasnt a new, custom inverted coaster...and reptar, and saturator, and richoet...lets just bash paramount for running the parks into the ground almost to death... If I would call any park being neglected it would be Michigain Adventures... Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. They might as well just rename the park "Six Flags Kentucky Dump"

Yeah, I think I got a little worked up about those "I305 looks boring" comments.

This is you saying Intamin is better: That is in response to those saying the Carowind's Intimidator is better and the King's Dominion one looks boring. Also, that's arguing semantics. Of course no one know right now which one is better because they don't yet exist. When we say "it's better" we are implying "when its built". EXPLAIN. How do you come to that conclusion? The only big problems Intamin has had in the last 8 years was/is from their launch coasters. Millennium Force is VERY reliable so I see no reason why Intimidator 305 wouldn't be. Also, don't hold it against Intamin that they sometimes face problems when they are inventive. B&M really hasn't pushed the boundaries in a looonng time. They pretty much took existing ideas and just perfected them. Yes, great coasters, but they don't have anywhere near the innovation as Intamin (or Arrow, etc), especially in the last decade. But lets not get into a fanboy argument and hijack the thread.

11/20. How on Earth do people know the family connections of long gone amusement parks! Also, those Ferris Wheel questions were ridiculous. I HATE Ferris wheels, so I didn't stand a chance!

How is it, that we can tear apart individuals who claim a ride that hasn't even been built yet "sucks", but we can praise it for all the air-time we "know" it will have? Nobody has any idea how awesome/craptacular I305 or Intimidator at Carowinds is going to be. The most we can do is take guesses based on our experiences with similar coasters. And that only takes us so far. Speaking of which... have you been on any of the new B&M hypers? If you've not been on either Diamondback or Behemoth, I'm quite curious how you can be so down on "anything B&M". DB > Apollo's Chariot... and it wasn't even close in my opinion. Just because they were both B&M hypers... they were a league apart. New track elements and designs, entirely new trains... made for a very different experience. To be fair, no, I haven't been on Diamondback or Behemoth yet, but compared to everything I have been on/heard reviews about, Intamin the clear favorite. I have been on Nitro and Apollo's for B&M hypers and as much as I love them, they just don't stand up to the best of Intamin. I'm also not a big fan of "floater" airtime. B&M is all about floater, Intamin is all about ejector. If you want to base the rides on their counterparts: Intamin holds 7 of the top 12 steel coasters of 08 (hawker), all of which are mega, mega light, or giga coasters. They also have 5 of the top 10 woodies (again, about airtime). That is compared to B&M who have 4 in the top 10 steel, only 2 of which are mega coasters. Oh, and they don't make wood. So, I would say Intamin is CLEARLY the company I would put the most faith in when it comes to the best mega/giga coasters (or anything, for that matter). Now, that being said, B&M IS a great company that produces great rides and the Carowinds Intimidator surely looks great. To call it better than Intimidator 305, though, is laughable. If this post I just quoted doesn't scream Intamin fanboy, i'm not sure what does. Nice try though. Not sure how anybody including you can say Intimidator 305 at KD is better than Intimidator at Carowinds when neither ride has been built yet. I am an Intamin fan boy... because they build the most intense coasters. Also, I'm not saying it is better, I'm saying it will likely be better. I know they haven't been built yet, but if we go on history, Intamin will deliver. The B&M intimidator will be great too, I'm not saying it won't. I just think that clearly a Intamin Giga coaster with an almost mega-light like layout and near vertical drop (and from the looks of it, more airtime than Millennium Force) is far more impressive than a modified B&M hyper.

How is it, that we can tear apart individuals who claim a ride that hasn't even been built yet "sucks", but we can praise it for all the air-time we "know" it will have? Nobody has any idea how awesome/craptacular I305 or Intimidator at Carowinds is going to be. The most we can do is take guesses based on our experiences with similar coasters. And that only takes us so far. Speaking of which... have you been on any of the new B&M hypers? If you've not been on either Diamondback or Behemoth, I'm quite curious how you can be so down on "anything B&M". DB > Apollo's Chariot... and it wasn't even close in my opinion. Just because they were both B&M hypers... they were a league apart. New track elements and designs, entirely new trains... made for a very different experience. To be fair, no, I haven't been on Diamondback or Behemoth yet, but compared to everything I have been on/heard reviews about, Intamin the clear favorite. I have been on Nitro and Apollo's for B&M hypers and as much as I love them, they just don't stand up to the best of Intamin. I'm also not a big fan of "floater" airtime. B&M is all about floater, Intamin is all about ejector. If you want to base the rides on their counterparts: Intamin holds 7 of the top 12 steel coasters of 08 (hawker), all of which are mega, mega light, or giga coasters. They also have 5 of the top 10 woodies (again, about airtime). That is compared to B&M who have 4 in the top 10 steel, only 2 of which are mega coasters. Oh, and they don't make wood. So, I would say Intamin is CLEARLY the company I would put the most faith in when it comes to the best mega/giga coasters (or anything, for that matter). Now, that being said, B&M IS a great company that produces great rides and the Carowinds Intimidator surely looks great. To call it better than Intimidator 305, though, is laughable.

I agree, but just let it go DBru. You're never going to change their minds. On a side note, I also remember reading on other sites how boring El Toro looked when it was first announced. ...And we all know how that turned out. Hopefully this Intamin will be just as good. Intimidator 305 has AT LEAST 6 airtime hills/spots (NOT including what very well may be the most ridiculous first drop EVER) and some ridiculous banked turns/S curves. Just for a comparison, it is 700 ft longer than El Toro, 124' taller (124' bigger drop), with a 9 degree STEEPER drop (85 vs 76) at least 23mph FASTER than El Toro (93+ vs 70). Oh, and it still has roughly the same amount of airtime spots (could even have more). So to recount, Intimidator 305 is TALLER, FASTER, has JUST as much airtime spots (if not more), has a STEEPER drop, and longer layout than El Toro, and it is likely that the OTSR will be minimal and comfortable. So how exactly is that supposed to be unimpressive? Hell, the fact that it could have the BEST first drop EVER should make it automatically more exciting than anything B&M.

Looks good, but I don't know how you can say it looks better than i305. Sure, it looks like it has lots of airtime hills, but it's still just a B&M hyper. An Intamin Giga with a mega light like layout looks ridiculous. If it is anything like a mega light, I don't know how you could say this B&M looks better.

Sweet, I can TOTALLY be at Canobie the 6th. I just took a spot on the NFL Fantasy Football. I won't be able to make the live draft, so I'm going to work on pre-ranking. Go PATS!

Wednesday night. There's nothing like dashing over boulders in the dark!

Virginia IS a Southern State. It was part of the originally 13 states of the Confederacy and is considered by most to be the South. Unless someone can post an extremely convincing reason why it shouldn't be considered part of the South, I think we can move on.

Count me in for Fantasy Football!

My first reaction to this hole thing was "If I owned Knoebels, I would tear that ride out." I can't believe the park is giving her support. I'd tell her to go molest rides at some other park. Seriously, though, this is a problem. I am fine with people being "different", etc, but this just isn't "right". Besides the obvious problems... it's someone else property. I can understand "loving" a vibrating dildo or something, but a freaking carpet ride? Also, the coaster enthusiast don't actually have a sexual attraction to rides (as far as I know... ), we just like to joke about it. When we say "Oh, intamin box track is SOOO sexy, we are just joking. We think it is visually appealing, like any good architecture should be. But having ACTUAL sexual feelings and wanting to violate a ride is just plain wrong.

Nice TR! Question for all those more knowledgeable: Are there any videos/POV of Fireball and/or the other coasters of this Happy Valley?

The ride looks like it is going to good, at the very least. My only worry is a lack of airtime. I know, I know, there are a few airtime hills in there, but no where near as many hills as the mega-lites (all of the turns on Kawasemi have air, Intimidator's have little elevation changes). I really don't care for speed turns (like El Toro), I want AIR. Sure, it's a nit-picky, us coaster nerds just always want that perfect coaster! One that for sure, the first drop will be RIDICULOUS!